You Owe Me Nothing In Return
by Taintie
Summary: Bombalurina is fed up with Tugger and his cheating ways, but worries she loves him. Her worries are proven in vain when love comes to her unexpectededly... FemSlash, language
1. The Turning Point

Bombalurina lay on her side, staring straight into that face. It was a face that had charmed countless queens before her, would continue to do so. Did he care? No, he didn't care about her or them. He was a selfish creature only looking for self gain; an arrogant smart-ass with obnoxiousness to spare. Why did she worry she loved him? Why was she watching him as she slept, keeping her emotions in check?

He'd walked back into their den as if nothing had happened. He didn't know she'd been told. She was aware he was unfaithful; it was bound to happen, she'd been a fool to believe she could change the tom. So many queens before had fallen with that assumption, it seemed only fitting the one who was never denied held it as well. She'd always gotten her way, always knew how to manipulate for what she wanted. This time, as he pecked her cheek and chirped hello, Bomba knew she'd gotten something she didn't want this time. He was so sure of himself so long as she didn't know, and she wasn't sure of what to do yet.

Why Etcetera? Because she was young, willing, and naïve, no doubt. The scarlet queen frowned disapprovingly at her lover's face. Who took advantage of a kitten? She probably hadn't known exactly what she was getting into, either. The scene played through painfully clear in her mind; Etcetera was thrilled with the extra attention from the creature of her obsession, even more so as it moved to hugging and kissing. Then the touching and the queen grew unsure. She would have hesitated, startled, may have even protested until Tugger soothed and calmed her. Then it got out of paw, it went too far. Bombalurina didn't care about the kitten's reaction at this moment; but she did care that her lover had corrupted a young kitten and had cheated on her.

He'd cheated on her.

She sat up and rubbed her face tiredly. Bast, she didn't deserve this. What had she done to him? She'd loved the bastard! You don't reward love with being unfaithful! She should have kicked him out of the den when he'd come home, not watched him dumbly as if he should have been dead. He _should_ have been dead. She wanted to tear off his face, she also wanted to cry. She also wanted to return the favor. She wanted to make him feel like his face had been shoved in the dirt and held there by some strong force. Make him feel like crap; make him wonder what he'd done wrong.

It would never work.

His thick skull never got it. He'd see she'd moved on, shrug, and go pursue some new prospect. Maybe she should just pretend she never heard of it, and continue like she had. Just yesterday she'd been happy with her existence until Demeter came up with the bad news.

All she ever did was compliment him. He knew she loved him; she told him often, confessed she wanted to keep him hers forever. All she ever did was stroke his ego. Their relationship was too physical for her liking, they never really _spoke_. They talked, sure, but it was never any deep conversation. Was that what they were missing? Maybe they'd run into the whole thing too fast when it was starting. . .

No, it was all his fault; his fault for having no morals.

And she was tired of serving his ego.


	2. Driving in the Point

The next day when she awoke she found Tugger wasn't in the den. So he couldn't face her awake, it seemed. How very cowardly of him, she thought bitterly. Stretching tiredly, she moved to the mirror and fixed herself up carefully before sliding out of the den. She didn't know what she was going to do today, but the scarlet queen was going to take her mind off the tom's little fiasco. She sighed softly as she felt the soft morning light on her face. Well, it seemed the world didn't stop even when hers had. The feeling wasn't unwelcome; it was comforting. But she was still hurting inside, a bad feeling in her breast. She was so unsure of what to do still. . .

Stop thinking about it, that's why you're out here; if you wanted to sit around feeling sorry for yourself you should have just stayed in bed. Bomba's eyebrow arched somewhat as she looked around for any signs of life, spotting Alonzo and Cassandra upon the tire. There we go, good enough distraction. Cassandra was aloof and didn't speak often, but. . . in fact, had they ever properly spoken? Bombalurina couldn't recall a time the two had ever had a conversation. Well, there was a first time for everything, and if the queen truly did not want to speak to her then Alonzo would at least be worthwhile to speak to.

"Hey 'Lonz!" She called happily, sauntering towards the two. Their heads turned in her direction, the patched tom smiling as he saw her, and the sleek queen. . . well, she didn't do anything.

"Hey Bomba. What're you doing awake at this hour?" He gestured towards the sky and the still-rising sun. The light was still pleasantly soft, and it hit the cats with a slight glow that accentuated their features.

"Tugger woke me up as he left the den. The oaf doesn't know how to be gentle." She found joking about him wasn't as hard as she'd previously thought it would be. In fact it made her feel more normal about the whole ordeal. But Alonzo's pleasant expression faltered as she mentioned Tugger, and he held a glance with Cassandra before opening his mouth to speak. Bomba looked hurt and shook her head.

"I already know, Alonzo. I'm simmering in my thoughts at the moment; killing him with a rusty nail seems like a very good option right now."

"If you do I want front row tickets." Alonzo and her both laughed weakly at the forced joking, and Cassandra's eyebrow gained height on her forehead. Bombalurina knew she was probably harboring thoughts similar to her own; Bomba was treating this situation incorrectly. She decided perhaps if she addressed the frustrating queen that look may leave her face.

"So, Cassandra, how are you this morning?" Bombalurina leaned casually against the side of the tire, looking up at the sleek brown cat.

"I am fine. Nothing of interest to you, no doubt." The scarlet queen was taken aback. First of all, she'd forgotten just how. . . cold Cassandra's voice was. It had a pleasant quality to it and a lovely sound, but she held no emotion. Bomba looked up at Alonzo who shrugged. Obviously he'd been trying to get some sort of reaction out of the queen before Bombalurina had interfered.

"Try me, doll. I'm pretty bored right now, a fly could amuse me." She thought she saw the shadow of a smirk twitch at Cassandra's mouth, and Bomba's own twisted into a grin.

"You are an interesting queen." Cassandra observed softly, her voice dark though not menacing. Bomba cocked her head and rose a questioning brow at the queen, but Cassandra didn't do anything but smile mysteriously down at her. It was starting to unnerve her so she licked her lip and turned back to Alonzo.

"She always this talkative?" She asked with a laugh, jerking her head towards the mysterious queen. Alonzo chuckled and shook his head.

"You've caught her on a rare day." He replied jokingly, and they both laughed and looked to where she had been.

She wasn't there.

Bombalurina paused, swallowed, and looked up at the black and white tom who's mouth was currently agape. When she spoke, her voice sounded painful on the sudden silence.

"Well, that's unnerving."

-----On the other side of the junkyard-----

Tugger picked at his teeth carelessly with a claw, not really paying attention to the raving Munkustrap.

"Don't you realize what you've done?! Etcetera's still a kitten you dolt! This could be very, very bad. Jenny's having a- are you listening?" Munkus stared incredulously at his brother who was intent on getting some food out from between his front teeth. In fact, the maned tom's attention wasn't grabbed until Munkus got a good swat in at his ear.

"Ow, hey, I need that." Tugger said sourly before his claw was promptly back in his mouth. That bit of kitty kibble was really starting to tick him off.

"You also need a brain, but you don't have one. Sometimes I wonder how you function." The silver tom snapped back, somehow getting even more frustrated as Tugger let out a grunt of triumph at dislodging the offending bit of food. "But then I realize something! I don't _care_ about cats that are asses!"

Tugger closed one eye and flicked the bit of food at his whining brother. He missed, but that didn't keep Munkus from getting angrier.

"Calm it, Stripes. I know what I'm doing."

"To hell you do."

Tugger eyed him carefully before sighing in mock defeat and putting the back of his paw on his forehead dramatically.

"Okay, I'll bite. What am I doing wrong?"

"Everything!" Munkus stared at Tugger as if he'd grown another tail, letting out a frustrated snort. "You've had sex with a minor, of all things. Which wouldn't be a problem if she were a bit more mature mentally, but you choose the one who's nearly as mental as you-" Tugger tried to insert an angry word here, but Munkus was on a roll. "-and you're going to lose Bomba if you're not careful. You do realize most toms would cling to her if they ever had her, right?"

Tugger shrugged and reclined on his seat comfortably, his paws behind his head.

"Who's to say she'll ever find out?"

"Demeter's her best friend."

". . .So?" Tugger furrowed his brow at his brother, not catching what he was saying.

"She's the one who told me. Do you honestly think she'd deprive her best friend of that information?"

"Oh shit." Tugger put his paws over his face and sighed loudly, and Munkus was secretly quite pleased he'd managed to get a proper reaction out of the tom now, but he knew he shouldn't be smug.

"So what do I do now? Say sorry?" Tugger asked sarcastically, looking over to his brother for guidance. Tugger always managed to do something like this, it seemed. He screwed up and headed to Munkustrap to fix all his petty problems. _Everyone_ was starting to do this lately, it was stressful.

"It's past that. You better hope she's forgiving." They both knew better. Bomba got what was hers and protected it like a mother bear with her young, but she didn't like being made into the fool. Tugger was basically screwed, is what Munkus was giving him. Some help he was.

"How do you know if you love someone?" Tugger asked curiously, tilting his head at the silver tabby. Munkus looked slightly taken aback, but his expression hardened and he shook his head.

"You don't seem to love anyone. When you love someone you want to please them, not cheat on them."

Tugger looked thoughtful, which was a dangerous state for him to be in. It was that mind of his that had him in trouble; that and a very wild imagination and a libido in bad need of being controlled. Sometimes Munkus wondered how they were related, or if they ever were at all. But Deuteronomy had assured him they were, when he was younger; he always thought it was safe to assume Tugger was the one with a whore for a mother; Munkus must have more pride in his lineage. He turned his back on Tugger and stared up at the rising sun, pondering as his tail lazily moving from side to side.

"Just say sorry and hope she's in a mood to forgive you. She really wouldn't want to give you up. She must see you as a prize, though I have no clue where she got that absurd idea." He turned when he was finished, but Tugger wasn't there anymore. Then Munkus realized he hadn't managed to make Tugger properly realize what kind of mistake he'd made with Etcetera.

"Damn you Tugger!"

Tugger snickered at his brother's cry, but sobered quickly. He really was in something deep this time. This was just lovely, especially if one appreciated sarcasm. How did he manage to get into these issues? Oh, right. He was Tugger. That's just how it worked, according to everyone else. Well, he had feelings too. Not all of him was a sex driven maniac. Just. . . that side liked to take over is all. He really needed to learn how to think in those situations. He didn't particularly want to lose Bomba either, but he wasn't sure why. He idly wondered if he really liked her or just her body. Though she was good at- never mind, that's one of those things that got him in trouble and he wasn't about to do it all over again.

He carelessly swaggered through the 'yard, not aiming to get anywhere. Then he ran into Cassandra. He flashed his winning grin at her; he hadn't forgotten her at the Jellicle Ball, though after his song she'd slunk back into her shell. It didn't seem to have any affect on her though, she her deep blue eyes stared at him unemotionally. Tugger grew uncomfortable. She was one of those queens that had eyes that suggested she knew everything about him and what he was thinking. It was starting to bug him more than the kitty kibble in his teeth had.

"Can I help you?" He asked, a little more rudely than intended. Cassandra cocked her head, finally blinking (which relieved him more than he cared to show; he was beginning to worry that she wasn't real) at him and frowned.

"Why do you hurt others?"

She knew?! Did everything know already? Tugger was inwardly frustrated with how quickly gossip traveled through the tribe. Everyone must know by now, he realized. Everyone would be after his hide for what he'd done. Well that was just shitty. His luck wasn't with him lately; he really needed to find one of them four leaf clovers or whatever.

"It's none of your business what I do, sweetie. Now, if you please. . ." He gestured for her to get out of his way but the sleek queen didn't move.

"Do you ever know what you do?" She asked softly. She was reminding him exceedingly of Tantomile and Coricopat, and he never really cared for them either. They always seemed to call him out on his faults more accurately than others did, and tried to 'help' him. Considering the fact he was pretty sure they were screwing each other, he wasn't very interested in their help. They were probably hypocrites anyway (ignoring the fact he called everyone a hypocrite) so he'd learned early on just to shrug off everything they said. Plus it bugged the hell out of them when he did, and that was always worth a laugh.

"No, not really. But I know what I'm doing right now." He grabbed her shoulders and gently moved her out of his way so he could continue his forward strut. Hooking his thumbs into his belt, he was somewhat troubled. Half the time he really didn't know what he was doing; it was an odd state to be in. But he never complained, it was just part of his charm. . . right?

Cassandra stared after him, pursing her lips. How had Bombalurina ended up with this insensitive tom? It shouldn't be any of her business, she knew, but she couldn't help it.

She wanted to know.


	3. Stresses of Tragedy

"C'mon, Bomba, you have to let me inside!" Tugger pounded on the outside of their den, doing his best to try and ignore the snickers he heard from passerby. "It's my den too!"

"I'm not in the mood to deal with you." The muffled voice of the scarlet queen frustrated him. She didn't have to deal with him, just let him inside! He wouldn't bother her, if anything he could always go in and just grab his things. Then he could beg for Munkustrap to give him a place to sleep for the night. Or something. Surely there was someone in the junkyard willing to lend him a bed.

"Okay, look, if you let me in I won't even look at you. I think it's going to rain and I'd rather not get soaked."

"It'd do you some good to get a cold shower."

Oh, ouch. She was right, too. He really didn't think he could argue with her without sounding inadequate. This wasn't going to be fun.

"Just let me in." A long silence held him in unease. She may just be ignoring him now, and he couldn't see inside so he just hoped she wasn't going to let him wait. The sound of shifting inside the den assured him she was coming towards the entrance, and he inwardly let out a sigh of relief. He'd have someplace to sleep for the night, that was always good. He smiled broadly at her, but her face quickly killed the expression off his. She looked utterly ticked off, and had a right to be. Her posture didn't hold the ease it usually did and she was very stiff lipped. Narrowing her eyes at him, she moved out of the way and he almost winced as he stepped into the den. Either she wouldn't talk to him, or she'd want some heartfelt conversation. Sometimes he hated queens.

"I didn't run into you all day, I suppose coming to _our_ den wasn't the smartest mark on my record." Bombalurina said shortly, turning and heading into the main part of the den. Tugger grimaced and hoped she hadn't ruined all his stuff. He peeked his head out of the door of the den and up at the sky before shutting it and following the angered queen.

He was pleased to see his stuff was still in order, but the queen sure wasn't. Bombalurina sat in front of the mirror combing out her mane without a word. Awkwardly Tugger walked over to their bed (a huge nest of blankets that hadn't been moved for quite some time) and sat down, watching her comb. There were no tangles and she was in perfect order; he could appreciate what she was doing though.

"You said you wouldn't look at me." She reminded darkly, scowling at the mirror. Tugger cleared his throat and looked down at his paws instead. Oh, right, he had said that. God he was in deep.

"Look-"

"I'm not speaking to you." Bomba busied herself further with her combs, pulling a box out and arranging them just so.

"I was going-"

"Saying sorry won't help."

Tugger blinked, more taken aback than he would ever admit. When did everyone turn into a mind reader? The scarlet queen frowned and closed the little wooden box she kept her things in, pushing them behind the mirror. She moved over to the bed, crawled in, and covered herself with only the intent of sleeping. Tugger stared at her for a moment then reached a paw out and rested it on her covered form.

"Listen to me." He pleaded softly. He wasn't expecting it when her paw shot out and swatted his away sharply.

"Your words don't mean anything. I'm only here because this was my den before it was yours." Rolling back over, she evidently was intent on ignoring him. Well, he'd just have to make that difficult.

"But I want to make everything better."

More he wasn't expecting. Bomba sat up with a growl at him, staring at him incredulously. He looked at her wide eyed, trying to figure out why his apology caused anger.

"You think you can make it better just like that? Tugger, you cheated on me." She looked hurt, but he knew trying to comfort her would be pointless. He was the cause of the pain, even he could see it wouldn't help and would only anger her further. "And with a kitten, Tugger? What did she have that I don't? What were you thinking?"

He paused. What had he been thinking? Nothing of importance. He never thought, that was the short of it. Spreading his hands helplessly, she shook her head.

"Give me a reason or you're going back outside."

She made him sound like a housecat there simply to be thrown around. She'd have a hell of a time trying to get him outside with force. Then again, she wasn't a wimpy little thing either.

"I was thinking. . . it was something I hadn't done before." He mumbled inadequately. It sounded a little better in his head, as soon as the words were out of his mouth he could see how wrong he was.

"Life's just a game for you. See how many times you can score before you're too old to do anything anymore. What happens when you reach that point? Then all you'll have is your memories, and those will fade eventually."

Tugger was immediately reminded of a song, and before he realized it wasn't a good idea to blurt out that particular line, he had done so with a smirk on his face.

"But the chicks dig it."

Either Bomba didn't catch the reference, or she thought it was inappropriate for this conversation. Her expression hardened and she growled in frustration at his inability to take anything seriously. Tugger winced.

"Okay, forget that."

"That's how you always are! Can't you see the bigger picture in anything?" She protested, looking him over carefully. "You're never serious. Do you know how frustrating that is?" She shook her head and suddenly Tugger felt like scum. Why had he done it? That little voice in the back of his head that told him right and wrong seemed to be on vacation.

"Yeah, I've watched my brother get angry at me enough times to know." He scooted over to her and took her paws in his. "Look, I really am sorry. I wasn't thinking. I do that." He smiled at her, but it wasn't enough. She shook her paws out of his and got out of the bed.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked, watching her glance at her reflection in the mirror before heading towards the door.

"Out."

Bombalurina left the den, closing the entrance tightly and glancing up at the sky. The sun was setting now. Bast, she used to love the sunset. Right now it seemed so far away. Hopeless romantics and lovers watched sunsets.

She hadn't watched one in forever.

Shaking a classic movie-style romance scene from her mind, she headed for the first place that popped into her head. The car. Tugger could easily follow her, and she didn't care. She just didn't want to look at him. She was so angry at him, but when he looked pitiful like that all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and comfort him. He was a prime specimen of a tom, perfect in every way he could be physically.

But in every other way. . .

Bombalurina had climbed up on the car hood, sitting and staring at the colours on the sky. Maybe if she just sat there and appreciated the beauty of nature she could forget the idiot in her bed. How could she ever go back and sleep there? Too many memories, memories of times she thought nothing bad would happen between them. Sometimes even she could be naïve. Heaviside she was a fool.

Her head snapped to one side as she heard someone join her atop the car. She half expected it to be Tugger, but soon realized the movements were too smooth and graceful to her ear. Then the figure moved into sight. Cassandra. The sleek queen offered a small smile and Bombalurina tried to respond with one of her own, but she felt it turn into a small grimace.

"What happened?" That dark voice could be chilling, but it was welcome. Bomba shook her head and gazed back up at the sky, the colours reflecting a little in her dark eyes.

"Nothing new. Tugger's still an idiot." She flicked some lint off her arm; unable to look at the sleek queen. The queen had that look. It was the look that made it feel like she was looking straight into your soul. It was unnerving, yet not totally unwanted. She liked Cassandra, somehow. Maybe it was just because she also agreed Tugger was an idiot, and recently made a point to avoid him.

"He is sorry. I do not think he realized what he was doing at the time."

"Neither did I when I gave my body to him." Bomba retorted softly, looked over at the queen sitting beside her. Cassandra blinked at her. She thought that she would want to keep her tom.

"What if he wishes to make amends?"

"Knowing him and what he thinks that means, he can go make amends with a stick shoved up his ass." She somewhat regretted the words as they slipped past her lips as she watched Cassandra wince. "Er, too much?"

"Hatred has never mended a relationship."

"Hatred has broken them though." The scarlet queen looked melancholy at the idea, but she seemed set on it. "I can do better; I can find a tom that won't cheat on me. But I'm afraid I love that idiot."

They sat in silence after that, watching the sunset together. It didn't occur to Bombalurina to ask why Cassandra was here; the queen spoke so little and was rarely seen, so for some reason she must feel as if Bomba was her friend. Just as well, it was kind of nice having someone to speak to other than Demeter. Demeter would have argued Bomba had pulled tricks just like this on other toms; cheated then wanted to keep the relationship. Well, she learned from her mistakes, is all she could say. Cassandra could see that, since she was here.

Maybe a new best friend was in order.

She didn't know how much time had passed as she got lost in passing thoughts of Tugger, her dying relationship, and Cassandra. She sat staring up at the dark sky for quite some time before she opened her mouth to say something to the queen, and found she wasn't there any longer. She was also cold, and knew it wouldn't get any better sitting on the cold surface of the old, beaten car. So, with a sigh of defeat, she slid down and headed for her den.

With any luck Tugger was asleep.

Luck hadn't been with her lately, so she doubted it.


	4. Better With Anger

Opening the den up carefully, she sighed as she stepped inside. She was so unsure now. So torn. Bast she hated this. Why did he have to screw around? Her mind briefly flitted to what it might be like if things were still normal; she may be laying in his arms, talking about everything and nothing and being very happy all the same. That seemed so nice right now, what she'd give to have it back. . .

"You came home." Tugger looked up as she walked in. She gave an exasperated sigh.

"What are you doing with my box?" She asked through her teeth, kneeling down beside him and snatching the object out of his paws. He looked sheepish and shook his head.

"Looking for my comb. It's missing so I thought maybe-"

"I don't have your comb." She said shortly, shutting the box loudly and putting it back into its proper place behind the mirror. While she was leaned over him, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against his body.

"Hey! Let go of me-"

"No, it's my turn to be short. You're ticking me off and this has always been the only way to make you sit still." He grunted as she struggled against him, but only succeeded in getting more of her limbs trapped as she tried to wrench free. Staring at her pitiful reflection in the mirror, her expression turned sour and she frowned.

"Okay. I'll listen." Bomba muttered in defeat, and Tugger nodded as he released her, watching her rub at her wrists and shoot him a dirty look.

"Yeah, sorry about that." He gingerly reached out to touch her, but she swatted him away. "I really am sorry. C'mon, stop being such a crab." Growling at him, Bomba shook her head.

"I can't forgive you over this, as I said. This is just. . . an all time low for you." They stared silently at each other for a moment, and for some reason Tugger thought this was an ideal time to make a move. He leaned in to kiss her, and her reaction was to slap him across the face. He looked at her with his mouth agape in disbelief, rubbing his stinging cheek.

"You. . . you hit me."

"Yes, because I don't want you touching me." She continued scowling at him, shaking her head. "I'm _angry_ at you, can't you tell? Or are you thicker than I thought?"

Tugger looked hurt.

Oh Heaviside.

Not _that_ face.

She was so weak against that face.

"Look, I'm not in the mood." She added shakily, backing away a little on her paws as he pursued, a look on his face that meant only one thing. She wanted to break it off! She didn't want to. . . to. . .

It was an unfair battle when he knew all her weak points! He nibbled and nipped devilishly at her neck; she shuddered and whimpered, reaching up to run her fingers through his mane before catching herself. No, she couldn't do this. Breathing heavily, she shoved him away and stood, trembling.

"I-I said no." Her voice had no force behind it. Tugger sensed it, and it didn't help matters. What _didn't_ turn him on?

"Come on Bomba," he purred softly, standing and walking towards her, pulling her into his warm embrace. She loved it but. . . but no, no. She couldn't, she hated him. But maybe she could. . . enjoy him one last time? She'd hate herself later, she decided in her mind, meeting her lips to his with a note of urgency. He dragged her down to his level, he made her want this. She'd tell herself that to keep the guilt away from her roaming paws for now. Bast she hated him. She hated how he was manipulating her, even as he kissed along her jaw line and lowered her to the bed. She hated him, but you know what they say. . .

'The sex is so much better when you're mad at me.'

_A/N: Yup, 'Get Stoned' I think is the name of the song. I blame my best friend for getting the song stuck in my head, it decided to take part in the fic, as have many other songs._


	5. Regret, Love, and Misery

She was right.

She hated herself.

It was the morning now, and she lay in the crook of his arm cuddled against him. She had to leave soon, she couldn't stand this. Why had she done it? But God it had been so- she killed the thought before it was finished. She'd allowed herself to give in and screw him. There'd been no emotion in it but hatred. In fact, the only thing she learned was that hatred was as good a fuel as any in these matters. She trembled as she pulled away from him, cursing under her breath. If she were lucky he wouldn't wake up.

Didn't she say something like that yesterday?

It didn't matter. She had to go now. Bomba looked at herself in the mirror. Disheveled and. . . unclean. Grimacing, she set about to cleaning herself before gathering her things.

Tugger awoke as she did.

"Where are you going?"

"Out." She replied shortly. Same answer as yesterday, this time it would be for good.

"I thought we made up?"

Bast Tugger was an idiot.

"We didn't make up." She muttered, not even bothering to look at him. She could see him in the mirror; he looked dumbfounded.

"We screwed each other and that's that. There was nothing more to it but a mistake on my part." Shaking her head, she held her box in her arms and stood, looking at him with no expression on her face.

"Bye, Tugger. You can keep the den. I can't live here."

"But I-"

"Bye."

She didn't have the patience to listen to more of his words. She would soon delve into a rant about his narcissism and would only leave with fresh hatred between them. He had been her favorite lover; she'd at least like to have the calmness of this moment to think of in their last time together.

She was officially solo now.

Well, this was a new situation.

Sighing, she headed towards Demeter's den. Even if she wasn't the best friend around, she always had some place for Bomba in her home.

Unknown to the scarlet queen, Cassandra was perched above her den. She didn't mean to spy, but somehow Bombalurina had grown to captivate her. She couldn't help but feel a little joy that Bomba was single, but now she realized the hurt would start. Bombalurina was obviously only interested in toms. She wouldn't want the relationship Cassandra had to offer. She sighed softly, going to find Alonzo.

He liked her for what she was.

-----A little later on----

"I told you he was no good." Demeter sighed, shaking her head as Bombalurina started to get settled. She knew Deme's den well, having come here many a time after break ups.

"I don't want to hear it, Deme."

"Just tell me you didn't do something stupid."

"I didn't do something stupid." The sarcastic tone showed she was lying. Demeter groaned.

"How could you?"

"You've never. . . Deme, you don't know how it feels."

Demeter gave Bombalurina a look of disbelief, but Bomba was right. Demeter had been raped in the past; she was terrified of relationships, let alone sexual ones.

"You don't know how it feels." Bomba said softly, turning her back to the gold queen and busying herself with her box, even though it didn't require any of her attention. "He. . . It's like frickin' catnip. I didn't want to do it, I tried to tell him no but in the end he. . . seduced me, I guess." She wasn't proud of herself. Even less so when she realized she was sorely tempted to go back to him for more. She couldn't do it, she wouldn't do it. She couldn't give him the satisfaction, or allow her weakness to go any deeper.

Demeter didn't say anything, so Bomba assumed she was too deep in her thoughts. Just as well. She didn't need any more guilt trips. She was giving herself enough of a hard time, she didn't need her best friend adding to it. A small sigh and she glanced outside. The sun was starting to set. Well, now she had time for the sunset.

"I'll be back, Deme."

She moved out of the den and headed towards the car hood, climbing upon the smooth surface and reclining back comfortably. She'd have prime view of-

"Oh!"

She rolled out of the way as a cat nearly landed on her. Cassandra. She seemed to be popping up a lot lately. The cat looked oddly surprised, considering her usual aloof manner.

"I-I didn't know you'd be here." She confessed, averting her eyes from Bombalurina's form. Bomba laughed and sat up, her eyes twinkling.

"If I knew this was your perch I'd have found my own. I thought yesterday was a chance."

"What happened yesterday? I mean after?" Cassandra asked, curious. She seemed genuinely concerned, so the scarlet queen pondered for a moment before shaking her head.

"Tugger screwed up. It's over. I'm a free queen again." A fake smile and she stretched out on her back, letting the colours of the sunset take her and soothe her raging feelings.

Beside her Cassandra smiled a bit to herself and watched the sunset as well. Tonight was good. She was happy in this moment.

This time she stayed until Bombalurina left, giving her a cheery farewell. As the queen sauntered out of sight, she heard chortling behind her. Whirling, the black and white tom greeted her eyes. She let out a sigh of relief and walked over to him.

"You're in deep." Alonzo observed, tilting his head.

"It's torture." She said softly, looking where the scarlet queen had disappeared. Alonzo pulled her into a friendly hug.

"Oh, come now. We don't know. You might have a chance."

Cassandra was silent. She loved Alonzo's support, but worried he was giving her false hope. He was the only one who really knew her, knew who and what she was. She was so shy she came across as cold, fearing that any emotion shown would harm her somehow. During the Jellicle Ball she had tried all too hard to cover up her sexuality, fearing it. That wasn't 'normal' in her mind. The Jellicles were supporting of such but. . . it didn't keep her from being afraid of rejection. Alonzo was the only one who knew, and he'd known even before she had. Friends always knew each other better than anyone else could.

Cassandra tilted her head up to look at his aristocratic face.

"I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Her."

-----Meanwhile-----

Tugger stared up at the ceiling of his den.

It was once a shared den. Now he was alone.

He really screwed up this time.

Tugger wanted her back so badly. Her warm body next to his. . . He should have listened to her. No, he was too thick. Too thick to see just what he had in front of him.

"Damn it," he swore softly under his breath, sitting up and looking over at the mirror. Even that hurt. The memories even that mirror held. . .

"_C'mon gorgeous, I'll have you looking even better in no time." A smirk and she gave his arm a playful swat._

"_I think you mean yourself. I'm utterly perfect, you've got some faults going on there baby." Bomba grinned at him and his eyes widened._

"_Really? Where?" She smirked mischievously and began grooming him. Even she could make that mundane every day act sexy. They started-_

Tugger shook his head. That day was gone. But it was painful to think he'd never be able to stroke her again, to kiss her, to _love_ her.

Had he loved her? God he didn't know. He could never figure out his own emotions. He was emotionally retarded to the point it was utterly laughable. But he knew he'd miss her, now that she was gone. He wanted her right here. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, and tell her that one thing he always deprived her of.

"_I love you."_

The words were painful now. Too late. He had no one to tell them to. He'd blown it.

How shitty.

_A/N: Thanks to the peole who have left reviews. They always make a writer feel happy. . It's starting to show signs of slashyness though (ohnoes!) so if you're totally adverse to reading that sort of thing, may want to stop here._


	6. Please Hear Me

"Bomba?"

The scarlet queen grunted and rolled over.

"Bomba wake up."

She rolled over again, expecting there to be more bed to catch her. Instead she fell to the ground with a yelp. Oh, right. She was at Demeter's. In fact, that was the source of her annoyance at the moment. Bombalurina grumbled and stood, rubbing her back.

"Sorry. Jenny wants to see you."

Bomba eyed her suspiciously. The gold queen looked uneasy and a little worried. She didn't have a good feeling about this.

"Over what?"

"She wants to talk to you."

"About what?" Her eyes narrowed and Demeter shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"Well, I-"

"I know what this is about. She's going to convince me not to go back to Tugger, isn't she? Wasted words. I never want to look at that thick bastard again." Bomba sat down moodily on the makeshift bed she had claimed and crossed her arms. Demeter didn't quite look at her.

"She also wants to. . . check you out. . ." She said softly, wringing her hands. Bombalurina stared at her in disbelief.

"Friends don't go around telling about my sex life."

"But I'm worried."

"Worry about yourself." Bombalurina said with a low growl, standing and staring down the shorter queen. Demeter looked frightened, and Bomba's gaze softened. Demeter was very fragile as far as queens went, she wouldn't hurt her friend.

"I'm sorry. I just want to govern my own life. Okay? I'm not worried, you shouldn't be either." The gold queen looked at her friend, unsure.

"All right Bomba. I'm going to go out; I've got a prior engagement,"

"Bye Deme." She grinned at her friend as she left. Maybe this 'prior engagement' was with a tom. Chances were slim, but you never know. A tom in her life would do her some good. . . and keep her out of other cats' lives. Chances were she was meeting up with Coricopat and Tantomile, though. For advice or something. She needed to stop spending her time mulling over words and start trying to sort herself out. Sighing, the red queen sat back down and laid back on her makeshift bed. She put her paws on her stomach and stared up at the ceiling, her mind straying.

Was Tugger thinking about her?

Oh damn, no. . .

That wasn't her business anymore. But still, if he was. . .

Was he truly sorry? Maybe he honestly, truly, wanted a real relationship. The thought made her uneasy, because that's what she had wanted.

Well, if he had he realized it too late, she told herself. Tragedy shouldn't be the only thing that brought cats together. That's not what she wanted. She didn't want a tom that only loved her when she threatened to leave.

So why was she crying?

-----On the other side of the junkyard-----

"I haven't slept the past couple nights." Tugger said with a grunt, eyeing Munkustrap who was busy trying to sort out some papers.

"Uh huh. . . wait, what?" The gray tabby looked up from his work, causing Tugger to narrow his eyes in frustration.

"I thought I was supposed to be the one who never listened."

"Yeah, well, I'm busy. Things like this happen when you actually work."

Tugger shook his head as Munkus went back to sorting the papers.

"What's all that about?" He asked, mildly curious.

"Some stuff from over at Macavity's, Mungojerrie filched it for me. It's actually very interesting."

"My life is more interesting than that raggedy furball." Tugger said with a snort, crossing his arms over his chest.

Munkustrap looked over at his brother. He was obviously not in a good mood, and wouldn't leave him alone until he got the chance to unload. Setting the papers down, he caved.

"Okay, what is it?"

"She left me."

"And that's a surprise to me why?" Munkus arched a questioning brow, which only made Tugger frown at him. He wasn't supposed to be on her side, he was supposed to listen and help without question!

"I thought I could win her back."

"You thought she was an idiot."

"I thought she loved me."

"Did you love her?"

Tugger opened his mouth and closed it. Unable to form a proper thought, he just sat there and glared at his brother in frustration. Munkus shook his head with a sigh.

"Look, you can't expect love from someone if you don't return it."

"But I would have!" Tugger replied defensively, his ears folded back against his skull.

"When? When you realized you wouldn't have someone to adore you constantly?"

Tugger's eyes widened and he paused, leaning back on his perch. Well, he wasn't sure. He missed even the idea of her. He had nothing to wait for in his den. He was a free tom now, that's all he ever wanted. . . right? That lifestyle seemed to suit him better.

_See how many times you score before you're too old to do anything anymore._

That bugged him. He wasn't really like that, was he? Yes, yes he was. Wham-bam, thank-you-ma'am. He'd been like that for quite some time. He hadn't really thought there was anything wrong with it (ignoring the amount of older cats frustrated with him, and the immorality of it all) until Bomba pointed it out. He opened his mouth to say something to Munkus, but his brother was gone with all of his papers. Tugger snorted and adjusted his mane.

He was getting mouthfuls of his own medicine lately.

No wonder everyone was getting to hate him.

A defeated sigh and he stood, moving out of the little area Munkus always worked in. That tom really needed a queen in his life; he was too busy with trifles. All for the tribe. Maybe if Tugger made himself useful? Blah, he wasn't supposed to be useful. He was supposed to be pretty to look at.

What happened when he got older?

Tugger was troubled.

This was trouble only queens could cause.

* * *

Cassandra was actually a little ashamed of herself, sitting there watching her current obsession. Why couldn't she get Bombalurina out of her mind? She'd never been of interest to her before. The scarlet queen was having a heated argument with Jenny over. . . wait, what? She closed her eyes and perked her ears to get some of the conversation. 

"Jenny, why the sudden interest?"

"Because if you get pregnant now you won't have a tom to help you care for it."

"So if I _do_ have a kitten you'll leave me to raise it alone? That's cold."

"No! Dear, I want you to be happy."

"I am happy, Jenny. The chances of me being pregnant-"

"Are probably better than you think."

Cassandra heard Bomba storm off and her eyes fluttered open. Oh, dear. She completely ignored the troubled Jenny wringing her paws as her mind wandered to her own thoughts. Somehow it had never quite crossed her mind. Of course Bombalurina had been intimate with Tugger; any queen in a relationship with him would be at some time or another. She quickly doused the jealousy that rose inside of her. Now wasn't the time.

"Cassandra, this isn't healthy." The soft voice behind her made her eyes widen as she turned. Alonzo had always been talented at startling her, but now he wasn't trying to startle her. His face was worried. Cassandra lowered her eyes downward, embarrassed.

"Just talk to her."

"I can't." No one knew Cassandra was shy. In fact, they just thought she was snobby. She didn't like the assumption, but what was she supposed to do?

"Look, you've been sitting there watching the sunset every day with her for the past few days. Just _say _something this time, it isn't that hard."

He had a point. Every day Bombalurina had come to watch the sunset. In her own mind Cassandra would pretend the scarlet queen was there to see her, but she knew why she was there.

'_I always said the sunset was for hopeless romantics and lovers.'_

Cassandra had pondered that. So, Bombalurina was a hopeless romantic. She wanted romance in her life but never seemed to achieve it. Cassandra knew she could fix that. Given the chance, she could make Bomba the happiest queen alive. She'd never get that chance if she didn't change her ways. Struggling a little with herself, her brow furrowed before she looked back up to the patched tom, a slight smile on her face.

"All right, I'll talk to her tonight."

Alonzo seemed satisfied, so he excused himself to go talk to his new queen-friend. Cassandra wondered who it was, but didn't think to ask him until he was gone. Oh well, she could ask him tomorrow. Her friend had been in good spirits lately, so she knew this queen had to be worthwhile. Certainly she had re-exposed Alonzo's sweet side. Climbing out of her hiding place, she began walking to her own den. She never did mind being alone, but maybe that would change sometime soon. Though she was surprised when she passed Bombalurina, and when the queen didn't notice her.

Sometimes she wondered if she was invisible.

* * *

Bombalurina sauntered over to the car hood, somewhat surprised when she saw Cassandra was already there, out in the open. 

"Coming out of your shell?" The sultry cat asked with a smirk, chuckling softly as she climbed up. A look of surprise and fear seemed to flash across Cassandra's face, but Bomba dismissed it as a trick of the light.

"Oh," Cassandra sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she looked up to the sky. Bomba gave her a sideways glance, raising an eyebrow. That hadn't been much of an answer. Shrugging, she reclined, not noticing Cassandra's quick glance over.

"Pretty tonight."

"Oh? What is?" Bombalurina looked down at her paw.

". . .The sky."

"Always is."

Cassandra just couldn't get up the guts to say anything else. She wished she could have just replied "You, you're the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen." But, as soon as she thought she could, her cowardice took over. She was just too shy. And this company was better than none at all, right? If she revealed she found the other queen attractive, she may never come back to watch the sunset again.

Bomba got up to leave, and Cassandra winced. She was invisible. She wasn't even going to acknowledge her before-

"Goodnight, Cass. I'll talk to you later."

Now she was happy.

_A/N: Hey guys, thanks for the reviews. -grin- I've been writing a lot lately, very inspired. Plus this is my favorite kind of story... the tragic heartbreak kind. -evil cackle- No better motivation!_


	7. Heartbreak is Contagious

Bombalurina spent the next week or so feeling sorry for herself. She was sure this was for the better, but it was so _hard_ giving him up. Sometimes the thought of running back to their old den crossed her mind, just to see him. But she didn't want to! Groaning, she pulled a pillow over her head and made a half-hearted attempt to suffocate herself. She didn't want to die; she just wanted the thoughts to be gone. What would it take? Bast, this was difficult. It wasn't really helping that Cassandra was confusing her. Every night they sat and watched the sunset, and every night Cassandra would start to say something and change her mind. What was that all about? She wished the queen would just blurt out what she was thinking about; it would make her life easier. Bomba threw the pillow to the side and sat up, walking over to Demeter's mirror and pulling out her box. She opened it and reached in, feeling around for a certain comb. Her eyebrow rising in surprise, she pulled one out and stared at it.

Tugger's comb.

Well, he had been right. She'd had his comb.

* * *

If Bomba _had_ decided to come to her old den, she'd have only been greeted with broken glass and about half of the blanket nest. Tugger was staying with Munkustrap after getting particularly frustrated one night and punching in the mirror. Jenny had scolded him something awful as she picked glass out of his paw; it never did help Tugger couldn't sit still during such things. He didn't even clean up when he'd gone to the den to get his things. It was a place love had been made and broken; it deserved to be broken too.

Like he felt.

"Tugger."

Suddenly Tugger realized he was being poked in the arm by Pouncival. What was he even doing there?

"Go away, Pounce."

"Aw, c'mon. . ."

"What are you doing in Munkus' den?" Tugger snapped at the younger tom, swatting him away. He wasn't in the mood to deal with his crap. Pouncival made a snide face at Tugger, his voice high pitched as he let spew a random line if gibberish. Okay. That's _it_.

He shot out at the tom kitten, the smaller tom gasping in surprise as he was unexpectedly thrown flat onto his back. Tugger straddled him and held his wrists down, growling down at the little tom. If Munkus walked in right now Tugger would be in it deep, so he better get this done quickly.

"What do you want that's so important?!"

"I just wanted to cheer you up." Pouncival whimpered and squirmed underneath the bigger tom's weight, vaguely worried. Tugger wasn't violent but. . . Suddenly many stories were running through Pounce's head, and that made him uneasy.

"Yeah, well, you ticked me off. If you want to cheer me up, get your scrawny ass out of here. I don't want to talk to anyone." He pressed more of his weight down on the tom dangerously, and Pouncival nodded hurriedly.

"Okay! I'll go! I'll go!"

Tugger let the little tom up, watching with detached satisfaction as he scrambled away. Pouncival was always a nuisance. Now where was he? Oh, right. Feeling sorry for himself. That shouldn't be hard to pick back up on. Plopping back down moodily, he looked up as another cat came inside. Munkus looked shaken, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked over his shoulder.

"Why did Pouncival just go flailing past me looking like he was going to get killed?"

* * *

"Bomba, you've got to stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"Deme, you've got to stop feeling like you've got to feel sorry for me."

Bombalurina knew her friend was trying to help, but as the scarlet queen was on her stomach picking lint off her bed she really didn't want to do much else. Demeter huffed softly and plopped down beside her. Suddenly Bombalurina realized she hadn't yet told Demeter about her recently not feeling well, but before she could say anything the gold queen spoke.

"We've been friends for a long time. I thought you'd appreciate my help."

"I'd appreciate you getting a tom friend. Speaking of which, do you?" Bomba didn't move to look at her friend; she was busying herself with a particularly large bit of lint. Demeter plucked it out of her paws and tossed it on the floor. The scarlet queen let out a defeated sigh and grumbled something under her breath as she looked up at her friend. There was a long moment of silence where Deme simply wrung her paws, and slowly a smirk spread across Bombalurina's face as an eyebrow rose.

"Yes, I do."

"Who is it?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter!" Looking flustered for the first time in months, Demeter stood and walked out of the den quickly, Bomba's laughter following her. She couldn't help it. Well, at least one of the two was happy. She was glad Demeter had someone in her life; she needed it.

Now, what about herself?

* * *

"Oh, Alonzo! I can't!" Cassandra might as well have been flailing, the way her voice sounded. This was nothing like the composed Cassandra everyone else saw.

"Yes, you can." The patched tom gave her a hard stare and she silenced herself, deep blue eyes blinking slowly. He sounded so sure, but she didn't _feel_ that way. She really needed to say something to the queen. A few words every night just didn't do it, but it was so hard!

"What if she doesn't feel that way?"

"Love pops up in random places. How many times have I said 'You don't know'? If you never ask, you'll always be wondering."

Cassandra looked at him in defeat. This had been going on for several days now; she was getting sick of it.

"Now, I've got to go. I've got someone to talk to."

"What about me?! I'm in a dilemma!"

Alonzo placed a comforting paw on her shoulder and shook his head.

"I know, but she needs help too. A little more than you, right now. Your troubles need to be sorted out inside yourself. Now," he grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, giving her bottom a push in the other direction. "Get your tail in gear."

* * *

Bombalurina was glad Demeter was out. No questions for the time being. That was the last thing she needed. Behind the den on her paws and knees, feeling dizzy and scared; yeah, she was eager to have a worrying queen bothering her. She was nauseous, by now there was nothing in her stomach to come back up. Despite this her body still attempted, so she crouched over and dry heaved a few times before it stopped for the time being. Bast, this was a terrible feeling. She felt a chill go down her spine when she realized Jenny was right. Oh, no. She couldn't do this. . .

"You look well."

That sarcastic voice. . . He walked over, and as she looked up the first thing in her line of sight was (among other things. . .) a bandaged paw.

"What's wrong with your paw?"

"What's wrong with you?"

Her face dropped into a scowl and she shook her head, hesitantly sitting back on her heels. Of course he had to be like that. Tugger smiled apologetically and kneeled down so he could look straight at her face.

"Sorry, first thing that popped into my head."

"I don't want to see you."

"Well unless you've figured out how to make me disappear, you're stuck with me."

She eyed him sourly before sighing in defeat.

"I needed to talk to you anyway."

"Hey, I just came for my comb. I liked that one y'know."

"This is more important than a comb."

He studied her face for a moment, and was surprised to see how serious she looked. And. . . worried? What could it be?

"Okay, fine, but I better get my comb back."

"I think I'm pregnant."

"Oh shit."

* * *

Bombalurina invited Tugger inside, something Demeter would not have liked, and offered him a seat. He hesitantly sat beside her on the bed. There was silence for a long, uncomfortable amount of time.

"So. . . what do we do now?"

Bombalurina shook her head.

"I don't know. The tribe isn't going to be happy."

"You better believe that." Tugger muttered, rolling his eyes and putting his paws behind his head, leaning back. Somehow, they couldn't look at each other. It was far too awkward. After another long silence, Tugger decided to speak again.

"They'll only be happy if we become mates."

"Nice try."

They both let out nervous, awkward laughs. It shouldn't have been funny, but in their stressed minds it was welcome. Tugger leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs, looking at her with a grin. She looked over to him, dully realizing how close he was sitting. His grin faded a little and he looked down at his paws.

"I miss you."

"Yeah."

Tugger decided it was fine to take a shot. It would work or it wouldn't; now or never. His paw gently touched the side of her face and he leaned forward to kiss her. Their lips touched, and they stayed like that for a moment, Bombalurina not responding. Tugger pulled back, looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I had to. . . I guess. . ."

"I don't love you anymore, Tugger."

"I see that now."

Secretly, Bomba feel guilty for possibly breaking his heart. He gave her a weak smile and waved as he wordlessly left the den. The scarlet queen stared at the door for a moment before dully laying on her side. She didn't know what she was going to do now.

* * *

Cassandra felt tears well up in her eyes when she watched Tugger leave Demeter's den. She knew only Bombalurina was in there. It meant only one thing. Whimpering, the sleek queen turned and ran to go find Alonzo. She needed to be comforted; her heart had been broken.

* * *

Later that evening Bombalurina found herself walking to the car trunk to watch the sunset; the sway in her hips gone. She couldn't bring herself to be flirtatious right now. Too much worry and guilt seemed to soak her very soul. She felt lost. Maybe she could speak with Cassandra; Demeter wouldn't be as kind.

Bombalurina was disappointed to find that Cassandra didn't come that night.

* * *

_A/N: Yeah, sorry about that. I forgot to put dividers up the first time I uploaded the chapter. Actually, I re-upload chapters often for reasons like this..._


	8. Touch of Irony, Dash of Confusion

Still feeling unwell over the next few days, she stayed in Demeter's den and didn't leave. Cassandra had not been at the car trunk for three nights in a row; she figured the queen had moved on. This did disappoint her, though. Her friend was, curiously enough, not home often. Bombalurina hoped this was good news; Demeter deserved something good in her life, especially after Macavity happened. Maybe, assuming this was a relationship that kept Demeter away, she'd get to meet this new love interest. Now that was exciting.

Due to this, Demeter was not yet aware of Bombalurina's 'illness'. She really was not looking forward to the inevitable when she would have to fess up. She couldn't deny it by now; she _was_ pregnant and Tugger was the father. It was all more surreal than she liked. She almost wished she could find Cassandra and unload, but she wasn't in the frame of mind to go hunting after a queen that was always able to keep herself well-hidden.

Groaning, she sat up and put her paw to her forehead. That headache really needed to go away. She wanted to speak to Tugger about this, figure out what they were going to do, but she didn't want to bother him at the same time. She was sure she hadn't hurt him, but that little chance that she had bugged her. She dully looked at her surroundings, though they were exactly the same as they had been thirty minutes ago. Maybe she just needed a walk, some fresh air. Nodding to herself, she stood and stepped out of the den. She'd walk out of the junkyard, walk where no one would easily see her. She didn't want Jenny on her tail, mostly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tugger had long since told Munkustrap of the situation. His brother was not happy. 

"Didn't she tell you she didn't want to have sex?"

"Yes, but. . . I don't know." Tugger shook his head and leaned against the wall, looking at the fresh bandage on his paw. It really didn't need to be covered any longer; in fact, the cuts would probably heal better exposed to air. But it was an almost obsessive habit now. Something to keep his mind off the more devastating results of him not thinking things through; if anyone questioned it he'd give them a sound smack on the cheek.

"You really need to learn to listen."

"Do you think I'm not ashamed enough of myself already?"

Munkus looked at his brother before sighing and running his fingers through his mane. It was quickly becoming his duty to take care of the tribe, and Tugger always made that difficult. Now he had both the corrupted Etcetera and a pregnant Bombalurina on his paws. To add to it, Cassandra had been seen even less than usual lately. The world was against him.

"What are you planning on doing?" He finally asked. Tugger just shrugged.

"She won't come back to me, and I don't blame her. I guess I'll help her out if she ever wants it. I never really wanted kittens, but I'll help with anything I've created, I guess."

"Then would you kindly help me sort out all this drama?"

Tugger grinned devilishly at his brother, a single eyebrow raised.

"Nice try, Stripes. All talk at you later."

Tugger swaggered out of the den and Munkus rolled his eyes. That tom was learning about responsibility in the bluntest way possible. Maybe for the first time in his life he would actually pay attention to something and learn from it. . .

* * *

Bombalurina walked along the outer edges of the junkyard, her paws linked together behind her back. She hadn't found it necessary to walk out here to think in quite some time. In fact, last time she had was when she was. . . oh, fifteen or so. She'd lost her virginity and was so worried that it had been the wrong thing to do. Smiling in a bittersweet sort of way, she recalled how she hadn't wanted to confront Jenny about it even then. She still made mistakes when it came to sex, obviously. 

The birds were chirping and it was peaceful. No other cats around, it was almost easy to forget her unavoidable issues. Almost being the key word there, but it was better than nothing. But soon enough, she became aware she wasn't alone. Fearing it to be a rough-housing kitten that would pounce on her, unaware of her condition, she whirled around to try and figure out where she was getting this feeling from.

A pair of deep blue eyes watched her from a safe distance, and she heard rustling. Whoever it was, they were attempting to run away. Bomba rushed after and managed to snatch a wrist.

"Oh!"

"Cassandra? What are you doing here?" The scarlet queen tilted her head with a raised eyebrow as Cassandra looked embarrassed. She released the sleek queen, who immediately began wringing her paws.

"I don't know." She sighed softly, her eyes cast downward to the ground. Bombalurina wasn't satisfied with that answer; this wasn't coincidence. But she wasn't going to pressure the shy queen, who was quickly reminding her of a scolded kitten.

"I've missed you watching the sunset with me." She said with a smile that only grew when Cassandra's head came up with a look of surprise.

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. I haven't gone the past couple nights because I haven't been feeling well, but yes. Where did you go?"

Bomba tilted her head at Cassandra, who shrugged and rubbed the back of her head with her paw. She often wondered why the queen was so shy. Obviously she was gorgeous, and she seemed too glamorous at the Jellicle Ball. Where was that queen?

"I thought you would be with Tugger so I decided not to impose."

"I told you it was over between us, where did you get that idea? I don't want him back." Both eyebrows shot upward as Bombalurina looked to the nervous queen, who blushed a little.

"I saw him coming out of Demeter's den, so I assumed. . ."

"I was just telling him something important. I'm not going to crawl back to him."

She gave her an assuring smile, and Cassandra seemed a lot happier. Well, Bomba found herself having trouble reading this queen so she might have been totally wrong, but that's how it seemed.

"So. . . tonight on the car hood?"

"You got it, Cass."

The sleek queen practically turned tail and ran in the other direction, seeming more excited than Bombalurina could account for. Maybe she was just glad to have some female company; Cassandra was one of the few queens in the junkyard that only seemed to have a male friend without being intimate. Sometimes she wondered about that queen, but it wasn't her business.

Shrugging, she turned and headed back to Demeter's den, careful to avoid any other cats. Soon enough she'd have to explain her lack of activity lately anyway, but she could put that off for another day. She carefully slipped in the back way and was shocked at what she found.

Before she knew it, she was laughing. Not in a mocking way, but out of pure surprise. The two cats in front of her practically leapt apart. She pointed accusingly to Demeter with an evil smirk on her face.

"I _knew_ it!"

What she had seen, before breaking it up, was Demeter and Alonzo coddling together on Deme's bed. Nothing too serious; the most that could have happened was the possibility of Alonzo nibbling on her ear. Demeter had been so cute, all leaned up against him and giggling softly. Now, however, the gold queen was blushing something awful and Alonzo couldn't look at the intruder.

"Knew what, Bomba?"

"You've been with a _tom_." The way she said it was as if she was speaking to her young daughter after catching her with her first love interest. That laugh of hers didn't help.

"I'll, er, leave now. . ."

"No, Alonzo, if you don't stay I'll forbid Demeter from leaving the den." Bombalurina sounded so smug; hell, she was smug. "I'll leave, I hate being a third wheel. You better kiss her something sweet." At that, she let out one more laugh before turning and walking out of the den again. She'd go back to her old den; she could stand Tugger long enough to get some rest. She just didn't want to break up that cute little love fest; if it could be called that. Still, she snickered to herself as she walked a familiar path. She felt a bit nostalgic as the amusement wore off, however. Not even two weeks ago this was a path she took every day, and it wasn't because she had to.

Okay, no more of that. She didn't need to start rolling in self pity again. What was done was done and it should be left alone. No use beating a dead horse. But as she got to the den, she was shocked. Not in the same way she had been when she saw Demeter and Alonzo, either.

"What happened?" She asked herself softly, stepping inside. It looked like someone had ransacked the place. Gingerly stepping so she wouldn't find her feet covered in glass, she realized there really wasn't anything left inside the den. A few blankets here and there and the broken mirror was all there was. That was kind of depressing, actually.

"Tugger happened."

Bombalurina whirled, wide eyed, and looked at the older cat standing in the entrance.

"What are you doing here, Jenny?"

"I haven't seen you around, I get worried." Jenny walked forward and put her paw on Bomba's shoulder. The scarlet queen shrugged her paw off and took a step away.

"I'm an adult now, Jenny. Stop worrying about me."

"You're an adult that makes more mistakes than can be accounted for; I'm keeping you out of trouble."

"You're doing a piss-poor job of it." Bomba said with a scowl, tip-toeing around the glass towards the entrance.

"What do you mean, dear?"

"You know what I mean."

Before Jenny could ask any more questions Bombalurina was out of the den and walking away. She wasn't sure of where she'd go now, but she was going. She wasn't ready to answer Jenny's questions, wasn't ready to admit she'd been wrong. She was still so lost and scared about the whole ordeal; Jenny would think she was helping but would only make her feel worse.

Now, where was she going to go? Maybe Munkus. . . no, if Tugger had left this den he was probably over there. She had no clue where Cassandra denned, and she had enough sense to not go to the kittens if she wanted rest. Jelly and Jenny were out of the question. . .

She was desperate, so she headed somewhere where she knew he couldn't refuse her if she asked for a favor.

Mistoffelees was such a pushover.

* * *

"Hey, Misto," she knocked on the outside of his den and winced when she heard a loud crack and a yelp. Speaking from experience, it didn't sound like anything kinky was happening in the den so she assumed she'd startled him while he'd been practicing his magic. Her suspicions were proven correct when his cute little white face peeked out with soot on it. She stifled a chuckle at his surprise. 

"I'm sorry, Misto. Did I startle you?"

"Very much so, yes. Would you like to come inside?"

"I was just about to ask if I could. You're the sweetest little tom ever, you know that?" She gave him a peck on the cheek and slid inside, ignoring his pleased expression and blush. No matter what was common belief, flattery could get you everywhere.

"So, what brings you out here?" Mistoffelees asked politely, attempting to rub the soot from his face as he followed her inside. The den was relatively neat, though everything seemed slightly singed. Wasn't Misto supposed to be getting lessons from the twins on how to control his magic? He'd obviously been ducking out on them, though she could hardly blame him; those two were eerie.

"I haven't been feeling well, and every place I usually rest in seems to be either occupied or unusable. Do you mind if I stay here until around sunset?"

"Sure, just go in there. I'll try to be quiet." He smiled politely and pointed towards a separate room inside the den; obviously his sister denned with him on occasion and liked her privacy. Bomba thanked him with the sweetest smile she could conjure up, thankfully lying down in the bed. Her headache had come back and was throbbing in her temples, much to her disdain.

For the next few hours she listened to Mistoffelees muttering things to himself, and the occasional yelp when something went wrong. Misto was a sweet tom, barely out of kittenhood; he didn't ask questions when someone asked for help, so long as it didn't require his magic. Surely he knew at least some of her recent problems, but he didn't try and stick his nose into her business. She was grateful for that.

She peeked out of the separate room into the one Misto was practicing in, careful to not startle him again. He seemed to be. . . well, what was he doing? Her thoughts were soon answered when he was blown backwards from the lightning that erupted from his fingers. She winced and ran over to him, helping him up.

"What was that?"

"I was trying to control it, but it rebelled against me. . . did I disturb you?"

"Oh, Heaviside no. I was just about to leave." The scarlet queen gave his shoulder a pat and a smile.

"Oh, okay. Have a nice evening, Bomba."

She nodded at his cute grin and stepped outside, feeling the chilling air on her fur. It was mid fall; soon enough she'd been staying in a den whether she wanted to or not unless she had a companion. She faired well enough in the cold conditions, but it wasn't fun. Maybe she could go out and find her old human family, though they'd probably forgotten little Scarlet O'Hara.

Chuckling at the name her humans had given her, she headed towards the car, pleased to see the remaining kittens were quickly scurrying for their shared dens. Etcetera paused to wave brightly at her before following after Jemima, and Bomba smiled. Kittens were always so sweet; maybe it wouldn't be so bad having one of her own. She just wished it hadn't been like this; no kitten should been conceived under such conditions. Ironic such a sweet, innocent creature would come from an act of anger and lust. She idly pondered on if she had been conceived a similar way; her father never wanted her or her mother, it seemed to make sense. She only hoped this kitten's fate would not run that route.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked at the car before leaping up onto it, wincing at the cool surface. Surely there were better areas to view the sunset, but she had yet to think of one. The view and the lighting just seemed so perfect from here. After a little shuffling around she finally sat down on the cold car hood and dealt with the unsatisfactory conditions. Soon enough, much to her relief, she wasn't alone.

"Hi Bomby."

Wow, she hadn't heard that nickname in a while. Tugger had called her that on occasion, but sweet and gooey wasn't quite his style and that nickname always sounded a tad sappy compared to others.

"Hey Cass. I'm glad you're here, seeing I'm freezing my ass off."

The sleek queen giggled (boy it was hard imagining her doing that) and sat a little away from Bomba. She still didn't seem comfortable with physical contact, but it was nice to see her coming out of her shell somewhat.

"Well, the colours seem to be nice tonight." The scarlet queen said after a pause, nodding towards the sunset when she saw Cassandra's questioning glance. The other queen nodded.

"Yes, perhaps more so than usual."

They didn't say anything else until the sun had nearly set completely. About then Bombalurina decided to inquire about something.

"Y'know, I've never seen you with a tom other than Alonzo. Did y'all ever have anything going on?"

Cassandra seemed determined to keep her gaze on the fading sun, but shook her head in response.

"No, we have been friends since we were very young."

"Ah." Bomba couldn't think of anything to say in response to that, so kept her mouth shut rather than flounder in a conversation. That seemed to be what Cassandra did, after all.

"Well. . . I think I better head off to bed. I'm getting kind of tired." She moved to get off the car hood but was stopped when she felt the touch of a paw on her shoulder.

"No, wait."

"Yes?"

Bomba turned around to look at Cassandra, a questioning expression on her face. The other queen faltered, as if losing the nerve to say something important. But words were not what she was about to deal out, and what she got surprised Bombalurina more than anything had in most of her life.

Cassandra had actually leaned forward and _kissed_ her. Definitely not what Bomba had expected. It was a chaste kiss, especially compared to most in her life, but the shock was in the fact it was a queen kissing her. She'd never thought she was attracted to queens, and this ran through her mind as she dully acknowledged the fact Cassandra had literally scampered away.

Well, that was. . . new. Now thoroughly confused, Bombalurina walked like a robot back to Demeters den. Demeter could have Alonzo tied up to the bed in unimaginable bondage, threatening to ass rape him with a whip and Bomba wouldn't acknowledge it. That was just. . . _different._

* * *

_I'd like a collective 'aawwwwwwww' right about now. Demeter and Alonzo are getting cute, Cassandra's coming out of her shell, Bombalurina's coming to better terms with her situation (though now I think she's a little... confused), Munkus still can't get Tugger to help with anything and Tugger... well, he's stuck in the same frame of mind he was stuck in a few chapters ago. He's being stubborn, the little pervert._

_"I am not a little pervert!"_

_Oh, then what are you?_

_"...A big one!" snicker_

_I need to stop talking to myself. Anywho, I quite like this chapter. I pulled in another character for at least a little while since only having the few can get dull, so you get a little of Misto's cuteness. I think Tugger really needs to talk to someone about how he's feeling, because let's face it; all that time ignoring Munkustrap means Tugger automatically lets everything go one ear and out the other when it comes to advice. So I think he should head off to a friend... Misto may make another appearance. I'm at a point where I could completely drop Tugger from the main story, but I want him to come to terms with everything completely and really truly get the stuff sorted with Bomba._

_...After she goes through a little more confusion, of course. All this torturing is for a good cause! Honest!_

_And I think I keep switching between car trunk and car hood... I just started to realize I may be doing that. I'll look and be extra careful about it from now on; I noticed I did it once in this chapter and fixed it, maybe it won't happen again._


	9. Meaningless Banter

Bomba walked into the den, looking thoughtful before glancing over to Demeter's bed. The queen was asleep. Good enough, she didn't want to answer questions like 'how did your day go?' Shaking her head as she sat down on her own bed, she idly wondered when she had become the opposite of herself. A creature more intent on hiding and avoiding others than going out and seeking company; that had never been her. Well, she had a legitimate reason so perhaps that explained it. The whole ordeal still irked her though. She just wasn't being herself. Now, about this. . . thing.

What had that been all about? She couldn't say she was disgusted; honestly, she didn't know how she felt. She had never found herself attracted to queens, but obviously Cassandra was! This wasn't going to be a fun one to figure out. Frowning, she lay down and stretched herself out, putting her paws behind her head. This was going to haunt any dreams she had tonight, she knew.

Why had her life gotten so confusing so quickly?

* * *

Cassandra scampered away back to her home, surprised with herself. Oh, why had she done that? She may have just ruined everything. But she figured she may have never had another chance so perhaps the risk was justified. Alonzo always tried to instill confidence in her, and it never stuck; maybe this time it did. Well, if that was the case, she would have to get frustrated with him. Now she would never be able to look Bombalurina in the face.

She sighed as she slid through the cat door, wandering over to the couch. The adult female was lounging on the couch watching TV, barely awake. Cassandra tilted her head before leaping up on the cushions beside her. The human smiled and stroked along the cat's back. Cassandra let out a purr and rubbed her head against the palm, pleased.

"Hey pretty. How are you?"

Times like these made her wish she could speak to humans. This human had taken care of her her whole life; she wished she could at least thank her for it. With that thought she curled up against her human and purred herself to sleep.

* * *

Tugger honestly had little respect for others' time schedule and the like, which was probably good for his conscience because he was headed towards Mistoffelees' den in the middle of the night. Munkustrap went on and on about the same things and it was really beginning to tick him off. He knew what he'd done wrong; he wanted to know what he should do. Munkus was too busy now anyway, trying to sort out some business about Macavity or something. Honestly, Tugger figured that if they let the hairball alone he'd leave them alone. But no, that's not what Munkustrap thought. Munkus had to stick his nose in everyone else's business. Then he had the nerve to call Tugger obnoxious, hah.

Oh, here he was. Giving the den a once-over with his eyebrow raised, he decided he wasn't in the proper mood to try and be subtle. So, cupping his hands around his mouth, he decided he'd be just shy of yelling.

"Mistoffelees! Get your scrawny ass out here!"

He waited impatiently for a few minutes before the small black and white tom peeked out of the den. Misto squinted his eyes at the Maine Coon, obviously just out of sleep.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to someone. C'mon, let me inside."

Mistoffelees' eyebrows shot up on his forehead as the other tom wrestled his way past him into the den.

"Er, okay, come inside." He muttered sarcastically, watching Tugger get comfortable. Obviously Tugger had never listened to Jenny when she'd tried so hard to instill manners on him. Was that a surprise? Misto shook his head and sat down opposite Tugger, eyeing him carefully. Tugger didn't seem like he wanted to say anything, so there was a silence before Misto finally started to feel a little frustrated.

"I'm assuming you had a reason for waking me up and taking over my den."

"Yeah, give me a minute."

Mistoffelees sat back, somewhat surprised that the Tugger himself would have to gather his thoughts. Well, there was of course the argument Tugger had few thoughts to gather in the first place, but that's probably why it was surprising.

"I'm sure you know at least some of what's going on." He finally said, smoothing down his ruff.

"I tend to stay out of the gossip, but I know some. Didn't Bomba leave you after you slept with Etcetera?"

"Yeah that." Tugger looked kind of annoyed, actually. Maybe a part of him had hoped in vain his private life could have stayed a little more, well, private. Fat chance of that.

"Mmm, what about it then?"

"Everything about it. I guess I can understand why she left me. I would have left me too." He said thoughtfully, twirling some fur around his finger. Misto raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "But I'm stuck on her. I mean, I wish she'd come back, y'know?"

"No I don't know." Misto said honestly. He'd given up ideas of relationships, at least for the time being. His magic was more important to master before he hurt someone. Not that it was easy to look at things so coldly, but he would if he had to.

"Well, anyway, I'm so confused about the whole thing. Hell, she's pregnant. What am I supposed to do about that?" Tugger glanced at Mistoffelees, double-taking when he saw the surprised look on the younger tom's face. Raising an eyebrow of his own, he gave the other tom a questioning look. "What is it?"

"She's pregnant?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Tugger asked with a growl, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, right. Continue."

Tugger gave Misto a look and rolled his eyes.

"I mean, it's not like there is anything I can do about it, obviously. . ."

"Shouldn't you be talking to _her_ about this?"

"Well, I'd like do but I really doubt she wants to see me."

Mistoffelees' eyebrow rose as Tugger slumped back, pausing. He decided he would probably be of better use if he knew more of the story, so gestured and said "Perhaps you should start at the beginning."

"Well, you know that thing with Etcetera. I don't know why it happened, or what I was thinking. . . I guess it finally, really got to my head how obsessed she is over me."

Mistoffelees kept his thoughts to himself about how he'd thought that had already gone to Tugger's head. He certainly wasn't going to ask details, that didn't interest him in the slightest. It was bad enough he knew about it.

"Anyway, for some reason I didn't think Bomba would find out. I was so wrong. . . a few nights later and she's more of an ice queen than I've ever seen her. It was sort of scary. She's forgiven me for a lot of things in the past; I guess this was just too much."

'_How eloquently put.'_ Misto thought to himself, feeling that when they got down to it Tugger would have very little point. But if it made him feel better, he shouldn't push him away.

"Then stuff happened, the kind of stuff that got me in trouble in the first place, and she leaves me the next morning. I go all mopey for a while before deciding to look for her. Of course I find her in Demeter's den, and she's been throwing her guts up. Then its like 'oh, I'm pregnant' and we don't talk about it."

The tom was rambling. Misto knew he had little hope of getting him to shut up until he was finished, that's always what happened.

"I'm frustrated. I'd like to help her out but I don't think she'll take it. That and, in a way, I don't want to ever see her again."

That was a tad surprising.

"So leave her alone."

"It's not that easy."

"Isn't it?"

Tugger frowned and stood, leaving without a word. Mistoffelees threw his paws up in the air, frustrated. There had been no point!

* * *

"Demeter."

Bombalurina drug her name out, playfully prodding her friend. The scarlet queen hadn't been able to sleep much that night, and had quietly observed her current den-mate tossing and turning in her sleep. Now she was curious as to what she'd been dreaming about.

"Go away." Her voice was a little rough from sleep and she buried her head under a pillow, aiming a push in Bomba's direction and missing.

"Wake up, dear. It's the morning."

Demeter rolled over, aiming the pillow at Bombalurina's head. Bomba caught it easily and sat down on the bed, a smug smile on her face.

"You had a restless night."

"Go away."

"Come on. Did you have a nice dream?"

"I don't remember my dream." Demeter grumbled, prodding her friend with her foot. Bombalurina shook her head and refused to move, grinning.

"Don't give me that."

"Don't you have someone else to bother?" Deme groaned, rolling away from the scarlet queen and covering herself with a blanket. In fact, Bombalurina did have someone else to bother. This was just more fun.

"Come on, Deme. . ."

"Go away!" Demeter drug the word out with a whine, making Bombalurina chuckle.

"Oh, all right. But I'll be back, and you better tell me about it then." The queen stood, grinning and walked out of the den. Had it been anyone other than Demeter she would have expected to hear 'screw you' as she departed, but as it was she was left with silence. Good enough.

Bomba perked her ears up as she stepped out, mentally mapping where she was. Alonzo's den was. . . ah, yes. That way. She turned to the left and started the trek to his den. He shared an old dresser with Tumblebrutus and Pouncival on occasion. The dresser wasn't hard to miss, but Demeter's den was a new 'starting point' for her. She was used to finding things from her old den. Which was now ruined. . .

She found herself swerving to avoid a group of kittens. Jemima smiled and chirped hello to her, Electra waved. She found Etcetera wouldn't look at her, which was just as well; no doubt she knew some of the drama that had been caused by what she'd done.

"Bomba! How are you doing?" Jemima asked, big bright eyes looking up at her. Bombalurina grinned warmly at the smaller queen. She hadn't heard that question in a while, at least not when it didn't have something to do with her private business.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just heading off to see Alonzo. What about yourself?"

"We're good. Skimble said we could come with him and see the train while it's in station, so Jenny and Munkus are taking us." Jemima blurted out before gesturing to the other two. "Bye!" About as quickly as she'd noticed they were there, they were gone. Whether they were in a hurry, their attention spans were short, or Etcetera didn't want to be near her she didn't know. Either way, she didn't complain. She wasn't in the mood for small talk; she had something to figure out.

Coming up to the dresser, she politely knocked on the outside.

"Alonzo? Are you home?"

She heard some shifting and thumping from above as he came from one of the higher dresser drawers before he poked his head out of the bottom one. He looked vaguely surprised at her, tilting his head curiously.

"To what do I owe this visit?"

"Don't try and flatter me." She said with a sigh, climbing in as he gestured for her to come. She followed him up to the top of the dresser, climbing through holes that had been made for this purpose. The first drawer on the bottom was bare; the other three levels were nicely furnished dens. A tad small for her taste, but nice all the same.

As they reached the top, she looked around and gave an approving nod.

"Nice place you have here. Fix it up yourself?"

"This one level, yeah. I helped with the other two. The actual dresser has been here for quite some time." Alonzo gestured for her to take a seat and she gracefully sat down, watching him settle opposite her.

"So, why are you here?"

"I want to talk about Cassandra." Bombalurina wasn't the sort of cat who enjoyed beating around the bush. Alonzo looked surprised and vaguely worried before he forced himself to pull a blank face.

"What about her?"

At that point, Bomba didn't really know where to start. She knew what she wanted to know, but she wasn't sure how to express it. Just be blunt. . .

"Well, she kissed me last night."

Alonzo sat up with his eyes wide, causing Bombalurina's eyebrows to shoot up just as fast.

"That sounds a bit more forward than she usually is."

"So. . . it does sound like something she would do?"

"Well, yes." Alonzo hesitated, wondering if he really should say something. It was Cassandra's business, not his. But the scarlet queen was here, and Cassandra obviously wouldn't spill on her own. She was too shy.

"She's had a crush on you for a while."

Bombalurina let herself process this, leaning back where she sat with a thoughtful expression. This is what she'd thought, but she hadn't been sure. Well, this was a new experience. She'd never had a _queen_ crushing on her. She did like Cassandra, and wouldn't like to turn her down or hurt her feelings. But could she like her that way? She couldn't imagine it, but stranger things had happened in her lifetime.

"Okay, thanks."

She hadn't intended for the visit to be so short, and Alonzo looked surprised as well, but she needed to muse on this so she left. She wanted to learn more about the mysterious queen now, more than she had before. Curiosity may kill the cat, but satisfaction revives it. . .

* * *

"Hey Bomba?"

"And you would like what?"

Bombalurina turned to look at Tugger, raising an eyebrow at him disapprovingly. He sighed and shook his head at her expression.

"Okay, let's start over."

Her other eyebrow rose to join the first as she watched him swagger towards her, a lazy grin on his face. Her brow furrowed at him as he leaned on some junk beside her.

"Hey gorgeous, I'm the Rum Tum Tugger. And you may be. . .?"

"How about 'not this stupid'?" They both let out laughs.

"Oh, it was worth a shot. You could have at least played along."

"Not particularly in the mood, unfortunately for you."

"Ah well. . . how are you?" His face turned serious and he straightened up. She shrugged and looked away.

"I'm fine."

"To hell you are. You look like shit."

"What, is that your word or something?"

She always recalled he liked saying 'shit' and 'shitty'. Plus it was a decent enough dodge to keep from talking to him about how she felt.

"It might be. But I'm not as think as you dumb I am." He grinned crookedly at her and she shook her head.

"That's a drunk joke, moron."

"You're just a fucking ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Tugger inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"The sort that goes on killing sprees."

"Best kind."

"Screw you."

"Was that an offer?"

"You wish."

With that, the 'witty' banter was cut short and she retreated back to Demeter's den. Her friend was gone, so she was left to brood alone.

She hated mornings that started decent, they always ended in a nice pile of crap.

* * *

_This chapter was very pointless. I finally began running out of writing steam. Writing isn't usually my creative release, and I'm usually hit with random bouts of inspiration for it. So I'm amazed this idea for a story managed to actually come to existance. Anywho, I had had a reason for this chapter, and when I stopped typing for a while I lost it. So I ended up with a lot of conversations that didn't go originally planned. This causes me to realize I should start to wrap this up. I'm dragging it out, and I'll begin ruining it soon if I don't give it a good ending. I'm just very pleased a random little idea, with no true idea for a plot actually turned out as decent as it did. I thank anyone who enjoys this story; it means a lot to me._

_And this is the third time uploading this dang thing. One day I'll get it right the first time!_


	10. Love in Return

The day before Cassandra dully watched the train tracks from inside the house. Stretched out on the windowsill, she had perked somewhat when she saw Skimbleshanks, Jennyanydots, and the kittens walking along the tracks, the kittens 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing when appropriate. But that was the end to her excitement, as she wasn't very inclined to join them.

Today Cassandra watched her owner leave out the door for a date or something of the sort. Lucky humans. It seemed so simple for them. She jumped on the couch and sulked a little, staring at the blank TV screen. She considered turning it on for a moment but decided against it; the remote was lost again and she couldn't be bothered to find it. Not that her human would notice; as humans went she was fairly unobservant. She just wasn't in the mood to dig around the house. It may have gotten in the fridge for all she knew.

Why was she just hanging around the house? Oh, she was _so_ embarrassed. Surely Bombalurina was utterly horrified at what she had done. She didn't like that thought at all. How could she face the scarlet queen again? She wished to, but at the same time was simply too frightening. She picked at the couch with her claw, sighing. What was she to do? Face her fear? Cheesiest suggestion in the book, but she would get nothing accomplished if she moped around the house.

She stared off into space for a while, twirling thread from the couch cushion around her claw. All she could think of was Bombalurina. How beautiful and graceful she was. Sure she hadn't been herself lately, but didn't everyone have their off days? Cassandra rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

She had to do something.

Sometime. . .

She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that. She just remembered suddenly leaping up from the couch and escaping out of the cat door.

She couldn't just sit and waste her life away. Hadn't she done that enough?

* * *

Demeter prodded Bombalurina, vaguely worried. The scarlet queen was curled in a ball clutching her stomach, and had been crying softly in her sleep. 

"Bomba? Bombalurina? Are you okay?"

Bomba shook her head slightly, looking up at her friend teary eyed.

"No, no I'm not."

"What's wrong?" Demeter asked, sitting next to her friend and rubbing her back soothingly. "Do you want me to get Jenny?"

"If you get Jenny I swear you'll regret it." She growled through her teeth, closing her eyes. "And you have to promise you won't tell her." Demeter hesitated to agree to that, not wanting her friend to get hurt.

"Well. . . all right."

"I'm pregnant, Deme. My stomach feels upset right now."

"Is. . . is that why you're crying? Your stomach hurts?" Demeter attempted to hide her surprise at this news. She held her tongue; it would do no good to verbally slice Bombalurina to bits. What was done had been done. But Bomba shook her head.

"No. I think it started that way, but now I'm just. . . crying." She rubbed her eyes and sighed, resisting the hug Demeter tried to pull her into. Deme resisted a sound of frustration at that, and just contented herself with sitting next to her.

"So, when did you find out?"

"Find out what? That I was crying?"

Ever the sarcastic one. . .

"No, that you were pregnant."

"Oh, that. A little over a week ago I think. Might have been two weeks, I never was one to keep track of time."

Demeter sighed and looked away.

"And does Tugger know?"

"Yeah."

"What do you propose to do about it?"

"Birth it. Take care of it. Teach it to never trust a tom, that sort of thing."

Before Demeter could ask any more questions, Bomba was up and heading out of the den.

"I'll be back later for more of the third degree, Deme. I need some fresh air."

It seemed to be a ritual now. Every time she left the den there was the avoidance of Jenny and the question of where to go. She sighed and rubbed her arm with her paw. She'd have to tell her one day, but Jenny always seemed to be on her case. It wouldn't help matters in the slightest. Bombalurina turned decisively towards an old thinking place of hers. It deserved a little love in her time of need

* * *

She reclined inside of an old trunk, reveling in the memories it held. A hiding place when she was a kitten, a place to take lovers when it was more than forbidden. . . it had been a thrilling place. Now she was some queen who felt as if she'd aged years in the past couple of weeks, looking to hide from her problems. Well, wasn't that lovely. She rolled over onto her side, tracing a scratch in the trunk's inner cushioning. 

When had this been made? She couldn't recall. It may have been made after she had stopped frequenting the trunk, for all she knew. What had caused her to forget this place? Growing up, more freedom, no need to hide anymore. . .

She felt herself getting tired along with her nostalgia. It was a restless sleep last night, so it didn't surprise her. She yawned tiredly and allowed herself to close her eyes.

She simply wished no kitten found her by accident.

* * *

"Did you try to talk to her?" 

"Of course I did!"

"Did you _really try_ to talk to her?"

"You think I'd lie to you?"

"Quite frankly, yes."

Munkustrap eyed his brother, who was shifting and looking slightly uncomfortable where he sat.

"Did you really, honestly, truly try to talk to her?"

"Okay, no, not really. Stop giving me that stare of doom thing."

Tugger crossed his arms moodily and pouted, causing Munkus to roll his eyes.

"The 'stare of doom' works, I suppose."

"Shut up."

"You need to expand your vocabulary."

"Now you're just being smug!" Tugger growled at his brother accusingly, causing Munkus to crack a smirk quite unlike him.

"Yes, well. . . you'll never fix this if you don't speak to her."

"Well, maybe I shouldn't fix it. I mean, it was always dysfunctional in the past anyway. Maybe this'll be that solution to keep us from hurting each other even more." Tugger seemed to shrink in his seat, still looking appropriately moody.

"And what about the kitten?"

"What about it?"

"You'd really like to have nothing to do with its life?"

"Hey, it hasn't done anything but screw up my life anyway. I don't need some snotty little sniffly kitten ruining my fun." Tugger looked away from Munkus, who raised an eyebrow.

"That's a change of attitude from before."

"Attitudes change. Now leave me alone. I have a date later."

"You _are_ a bastard, in more than one sense of the word.

"Up yours, Munkus. It's my life."

"And you waste it so well."

* * *

Cassandra gulped, staring down at the sleeping Bombalurina. Obviously she had been trying to hide, and the sleek queen had foiled that plan. Well, she had picked out Bomba's scent from Demeter's den and followed it. It hadn't been easy – Cassandra was no bloodhound – but she had done it. Now she wasn't sure of what to do. Did this make her a stalker? Yes, in a way it did. She had found herself doing quite a lot of stalking lately, and was not proud of herself. But what was she to do? 

Gathering her courage, she slid down inside of the trunk and landed with a soft thump.

"Bombalurina?" Softly at first, then she cleared her throat and spoke out louder. "Bombalurina?"

The scarlet queen blinked slowly and rolled over, bumping into Cassandra's legs. Bomba squinted and looked up at her, looking confused.

"Cass? What in Bast's name are you doing here?"

"Oh, I can leave if you want." Cassandra said, immediately embarrassed. She took a few steps back before Bombalurina shook her head.

"No, I want to talk to you anyway. Sit." The queen sat up and rubbed sleep from her eyes as Cassandra gracefully sat beside her.

"What do you want to talk to me about?"

Bombalurina just smiled at her.

* * *

"If you thought I hated you before you were _really_ mislead!" 

Demeter wasn't near as tall as Tugger, but she was getting rather intimidating. He gulped and stared at her, backing away as she advanced. He could have sworn she was trying to literally glare daggers at him.

"How can you do things like this? Do you like screwing up everyone's lives? Is this funny?"

"That's not-"

"Don't you talk to me!" Demeter's claws came dangerously close to Tugger's pretty nose; even if he was extremely confused he wasn't going to risk his appearance, so he shut his mouth.

"I can't believe it. You get her pregnant – and don't you dare play dumb, not that you even have to _pretend_ – and you don't even have anything to do with her! She can't do this by herself! Why won't you help her?"

"I tried Deme!"

"Didn't I say-! What?" Demeter did a double-take. "What did you do?"

"She doesn't want me to help her."

Tugger crossed his arms and gave her a stern look, satisfied with the embarrassed expression her face soon adopted.

"Really? I-I assumed. . ."

"On an assumption you came over and started yelling at me. You know what that makes you? A major, grade A ass."

Demeter growled at him threateningly and he just chuckled. Soon enough she had turned on her heel and stalked out. No doubt she was going to hunt down Bomba and start a yelling contest.

"One point for the Tugger."

* * *

"So, Alonzo told you about that?" 

"Yeah, and I've been thinking long and hard about it." Bombalurina crossed her legs, picking at some fur on her thigh as opposed to actually looking at Cassandra. She simply couldn't look the other queen in the eye, it seemed. . . odd.

"A-about what, exactly?"

The scarlet queen would have to admit she found reassurance in Cassandra's nervousness. Perhaps she wasn't alone in her confusion.

"Everything, really. I'm rather confused to be honest." Bomba paused, trying to come up with a way to properly word what she wanted to say. It took her a moment to realize Cassandra wasn't exactly breathing. The other queen was holding her breath in anticipation; Bombalurina let out a nervous laugh.

"Breathe, dear, it does help."

"Oh, right. Heh. . ."

"Well, let's see," she felt foolish at her embarrassment; she had never been like this before. "I suppose I've been thinking that I really like you. You're a good friend."

"A friend?" Cassandra smiled, but Bombalurina could see a hint of disappointment.

"Yeah, but maybe. . . uh. . . damn." She knocked her forehead with the heel of her paw, not sure of what she was trying to get out.

"Maybe what?" The sleek brown queen was sounding somewhat hopeful so Bombalurina took another breath and continued.

"Let me try something else. Was that you're. . . uh, you're first kiss?"

Cassandra immediately looked embarrassed and lowered her gaze to her lap.

"Yeah it was."

"Dear, that was a piss-poor excuse for a first kiss." Bombalurina said with a slight laugh. She stopped and bit her lip, hesitating. "Let me fix that."

Cassandra looked just as surprised as Bombalurina felt. But despite that, she put her paw on Cassandra's cheek and leaned forward, pressing her lips against those of the other queen. Somehow this didn't seem as odd as she had worried it would. It was almost like any other kiss. Almost. . .

Without another thought, she slipped her tongue past Cassandra's lips, wrapping her arms around the other queen. Cassandra returned the kiss with little hesitation, enjoying it. This wasn't so bad-

"Bomba!"

Cassandra and Bombalurina simultaneously pulled away from each other, the latter of the two ungracefully landing on her back. She stared open-mouthed upward, trying to catch sight of whoever had called her name. When she saw who it was the first words that came to her mind were: Holy shit.

Tugger leapt down into the trunk, giving a sour look to Cassandra who appropriately scooted backwards to get as far away from him as she could. Then he turned to Bombalurina, his eyes narrowed.

"What in Bast's name are you _doing_?"

"I'm not your property anymore, you ass. This is my business, not yours." Said Bomba, standing and taking a defensive position. She glared at him and he glared right back. They stood like that, unmoving and silent before he finally spoke.

"This is a mistake. How, Bomba? _How_? Do you go from this-" he gestured to himself. "To _that_?" He pointed behind him in Cassandra's direction, and the poor queen's ears folded against her skull and the way he referred to her.

"Don't talk about her like that. She isn't an object; she's just as much of a cat as you are. More, even. You're too stupid to realize everyone is just the same. You never even respected me."

"Yes I did, you thick-headed queen!"

Bombalurina was somewhat taken aback, and was caught so off-guard she lost her composure.

"Y-you what? Respected me?" Before she had a chance to blow up in his face, he spoke again.

"Yes, I did. Honestly, who couldn't? You protect those that need it, you're smart enough to get out of tricky situations, and you haven't let this pregnancy thing stop you in your tracks."

"You're pregnant?" Cassandra's voice was a squeak by now, afraid to speak to the angry tom. Bombalurina mentally smacked herself, remembering she had never told her suddenly more-than-a-friend.

"Yeah, I am." She said softly before hardening her gaze and looking back at Tugger. "But that doesn't matter any more. You never showed that you respected me, and you never acted like you cared. I'd like to say I'll miss you, but I'm afraid it would be a lie to some extent. Good bye, Tugger. Come on, Cass, he doesn't know how to quit while he's ahead."

Bombalurina gave Tugger one last scornful look before she shoved her way past him and took Cassandra's paw, pulling her up to her feet. The two retreated out of the trunk, leaving Tugger to feel sorry for himself.

"She. . .?" He plopped down onto his rump, staring at the place the two queens had been standing. It had been fine if he dated other cats, but not her. She was supposed to be torn up over him. Certainly she wasn't supposed to be with another queen!

For all the times he had damaged her ego, she really was getting back at him.

If he ever found the embodiment of karma he'd tear it to shreds.

* * *

"How angry do you think he is?" Cassandra asked, crossing her legs and looking to Bombalurina. She was still unsure of their relationship status, but figured that kiss had to mean something. 

"I don't think he's mad so much as had his ego beat up. Queens are supposed to pine over him, not go off with other queens." She let out a laugh and stretched out on her bed.

"I hope he won't be too angry with me. . ." Cassandra looked at her clenched paws in her lap. "What are we waiting for?"

"Demeter. Obviously, I have something to say to her." The scarlet queen smiled and reached up to pat Cassandra on the back. "I rather like you. Quite a lot, really. You listen to everything I say; you don't think I'm stupid. . ." She rolled onto her side, facing away from Cassandra. "And I know you like me back, I don't have to guess."

Cassandra's heart was fluttering and it was all she could do to keep from getting giddy.

"I don't just like you." She mumbled softly. Bombalurina rolled onto her other side, propping up on her elbow and raising an eyebrow at Cassandra's back.

"What's that, Cass? Little louder, you're mumbling."

"I said I don't just like you." Cassandra said sheepishly, still not looking at the scarlet queen. "I think I may. . . love you?"

Few things had the ability to shut Bombalurina up. She could almost always find something to say in any situation, but this was one of the few where she was at a loss for words. What was she falling into here? Uncharted territory. Up until that kiss everything else was old news, but this wasn't normal for her. What could she say back? She didn't know, so the two ended up sitting in silence until they were disturbed several moments later.

"Bombalurina!" Demeter came screeching in, looking flustered. "You are so stupid! Tugger even offered to- oh." She paused when it dawned on her that Cassandra was there as well. She suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Oh, should I leave?" Cassandra asked softly, her paws over her mouth. Bomba shook her head and sat up.

"No, you should be able to hear anything Demeter has to say to me. You were saying, Deme?"

Demeter's expression clouded over as she looked at Bomba's smug face.

"Fine. Bomba you're an idiot. Tugger offered to help you with that damn bastard kitten you're going to have and you didn't take it. Why? Would you like to screw up its life too?"

Bombalurina's expression hardened and she snarled, leaping up to glare down the gold queen.

"Tugger would screw with its poor little mind until it hardly even acted like a kitten. He'd let it know, see, and hear so many things it ought not it makes me sick just thinking about it. Most of all, I _won't_ be going it alone."

"Oh? And who's going to help you? _You're_ dead-beat mother?"

Bomba growled and pushed the other queen over.

"At least she tried to take care of me!"

"So it is true, you do always become your parents."

Demeter glared up at the angered queen before clearing her throat and climbing to her feet. Bombalurina took this chance to snatched Cassandra's wrist and tug her out of the den.

"Screw you, Deme." She growled over her shoulder menacingly. "Screw you."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Bomba. . ." 

"Does she think this is easy for me? I don't know why it seems like she hates me now. We used to be so close, now it's all gone."

Alonzo offered to let Cassandra and Bombalurina stay in his den for the night, and they had gratefully accepted. Bombalurina had no where else to stay now; her world had been turned upside down in the course of a day. Why her? Cassandra tried to comfort the scarlet queen, who was starting to go into hysterics.

"I just don't understand why she would do that," said Alonzo in disbelief. The black and white tom sat down heavily and stared at his feet. "She has never been like that."

"She thinks I'm an idiot." Bomba said, rubbing viciously at her eyes to rid them of tears. "All those years I took care of her and one big mistake of mine sets her off. I thought she was better than that."

"Things like that happen, Bomby." Cassandra said softly, disliking the way the other queen was taking this. "Maybe it was just time for you two to part ways?"

Bombalurina looked at her paws, bit her lip, then closed her eyes. She didn't say anything. What was there to say now?

"Well, I'm going to go to bed." Alonzo said hesitantly, standing. "I'll see you ladies in the morning."

Cassandra watched him walk out before turning her attention back to Bombalurina.

"We will get through this together, all right? Things will get better eventually."

"Together?" Bomba looked up at the sleek queen tearfully, and Cassandra nodded.

"Yes, together."

"I can do that."

Bombalurina cuddled into Cassandra's arms, not looking forward to the days ahead. Demeter and Tugger both would have something against her; two cats she had never thought she'd part ways with.

But she could do it with Cassandra with her, she knew that.

"I love you."

* * *

I was going to be a total meanie-pants and end the story here, but you guys are getting one more chapter and a nice little happy ending all around. Be proud; happy endings are not my forte.

Now, this story may be awkward. For this I apologize. The idea for writing this femslash was completely random in the first place, and I wasn't sure of how to go about it being a straight female myself. I hope it isn't as awkward as I think it is...

For this I would request another collective 'awww'.


	11. In The End

Bombalurina absentmindedly bounced her kitten on her knee, the giggling tom playing with a jingling mouse toy. Jonnopaus was an absolute sweetheart, and it was hard to think that the pregnancy had been so unwanted. Jonnopaus, or Johnny, as most called him, was an adorable blend of golden brown, white, and dark red with black spots. Anyone who glanced at him knew he was Tugger's son; no one really commented on it anymore.

Cassandra was at her human home for the week while her human was sick, so she was staying at Alonzo and Demeter's den for now. She was relieved that she had made up with her friend long ago.

It had been a low blow when Demeter brought up the tender subject of Bomba's mother; but only because Bombalurina was exactly like Grizabella had been. It was the exact same situation that had caused Grizabella to leave in the first place. At first, Bombalurina hadn't wanted anything to do with the gold queen, but only because she had a fear she _would_ become her mother. However, she had gotten angry as well, and knew just as well as anyone else that Grizabella _hadn't_ tried to take care of her. Hence, Bombalurina was determined to make a better mother.

"Johnny, sweetheart, give mommy the mouse." She said with a smile, seeing he was about to gnaw the bell off the end of its tail. He grunted and tried to twist away so he could continue chewing, but she gently took it away from him. He could have a stubborn streak just like his father.

Tugger had been a lot harder to make up with. He had kept digging his grave with almost each encounter he'd had with her, and then insulting Cassandra. It was only two and a half months before her kitten was born did he finally apologize and get it right. Well, mostly. It turned out the curious cat did indeed care about her, but he knew he could never have her back. So he (grudgingly) agreed they could stay as friends, as he really wanted to take part in his kitten's life. Bombalurina hated to admit some small part of her still loved the tom, but she knew his recent show of sensitivity had brought about the stir of feelings.

So, Tugger was going to come over tonight and spend time with Johnny. Bomba smiled at her kit and set him down so he could crawl around for a while before turning to Alonzo and Demeter, who were putting dinner together.

"How's it coming? Did you get something for Johnny to gnaw on?" She asked. Demeter turned and gave her friend a smile. She was glad they were friends again; she had hated not having her gold queen to turn to when she had a problem.

"We bribed Mungojerrie to nab us some of those cookies humans give to their kits. Here," she dug around in a back and pulled out a crispy, almost bread-like cookie, and snapped it in half before walking over and handing it to Bombalurina. Bomba sniffed it and daintily took a bite for her to approve before handing it to Johnny. The little fuzzy thing sniffed it before gnawing at it, growling. Bombalurina smiled lovingly at him, reaching down to stroke his little head. He was simply too precious.

"Did you expect me?" Bombalurina turned when she heard a familiar voice. Cassandra? She was home already? "And I brought a friend."

After Cassandra had entered the den, Tugger followed up as well. Bomba grinned as Cassandra walked over and gave her a kiss.

"What a surprise, I didn't think you'd be home for a couple more days."

"Well, I decided I'd like to be here." Cassandra said softly, smiling. "I nearly forgot you had said you'd be here; I had to walk all the way across the junkyard."

"Well, that's not my fault, you loon." Bomba teased. She paused and watched Tugger stride across the room to peer at Johnny. The kitten was rather oblivious, much more intent on his cookie. Tugger grinned broadly, a sort of grin Bomba had never seen on his face, and turned to her.

"How's he been?"

"Stubborn."

Tugger chuckled and reached down to pick Johnny up and sit him in his arms. Johnny stared at him with a somewhat questioning glance, before going back to his cookie.

"Sounds familiar." Alonzo said with a grin, and Tugger shot him a playfully dirty look.

"Don't make me hit you with the baby in the room." Tugger warned, causing everyone to chuckle. Bombalurina stood and took Johnny's cookie away, much to his distaste.

"Don't drool all over daddy," Bomba said, ruffling the kitten's headfur. Tugger made a small, half laugh and Bombalurina noticed he was just looking at Johnny. In the back of her head she was grinning like a fool; this was just too sweet.

"You know, our kitten is going to have one interesting family to explain." Cassandra said with a laugh. Bombalurina nodded, tilting her head at Tugger and his son together.

"At least he has a daddy." She said softly. That's what meant the most to her, she had to admit; she had never known her father, as Grizabella simply say he wasn't worth knowing. Everyone had grown up and closer from this experience; she'd do it all again if she had to.

"Well, Alonzo and I also have something to say." Demeter finally said. Bombalurina had nearly forgotten her and Alonzo were still sitting there. They all looked at the couple expectantly, and in the back of her mind Bomba knew exactly what was coming. After a deep breath, Demeter finally got it out.

"I'm pregnant."

"So we're playing this game again?" Tugger asked jokingly, smirking. Bombalurina gave a chuckle.

"Congratulations, Deme. . . Here's hoping it's not as confusing as mine!"

* * *

_I'm so sorry, you guys. I had a huge long chapter typed up and nearly finished, then my computer died. When I got it back, all the files were fine so I didn't suspect a thing... But I found out Microsoft Word and all the Word files were corrupted. I couldn't do a thing with them, and it was all gone. Having already wrote it once, I was torn between trying to write it again or leaving the story where it was. I compromised. I know it's dissapointing, and I feel terrible I can't do as promised, but I did try, I just couldn't write all of that again... So, I skipped all the parts that were properly explained in the chapter and got to this. I don't like writing things like that, but I did my best._

_I hope all of you enjoyed this story, and I thank you all for your wonderful comments. I'm not a writer by nature; I'm inclined to pick up my pencil or costuming supplies rather than write, usually, so it means a lot to me that I'm entertaining people. This story is still something I'm proud of, and it turned out better than expected considering it wasn't planned at all._

_I love and appreciate you all for sticking with this largely unplanned piece of interweb word clumps, and I'm going to be just a little saddened this story had to end. I hope y'all enjoyed the run, or enjoy some of my other stories, and even if you didn't, well... I had my fun, and that's all that counts._


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